Around the media landscape, sportsbooks are dropping their 2026 projected win totals for all 32 NFL teams and, while these are way too early to take super seriously, it’s fun to see how folks are perceiving the league’s landscape at this point in the offseason.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, there are nine teams who they’ve opened up with a projection of 10.5 wins in 2026, the highest total among any team. Among them are the Chargers who are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the highest mark in the AFC
West. The other eight teams with the same projection are the 49ers, Seahawks, Rams, Bills, Eagles, Packers, Lions, and Ravens.
After winning 11 games in back-to-back seasons, that looks to be the expectation once again in 2026 for the Chargers. After finishing the year second in the division, they’ll have a fairly tough schedule, including games against the Ravens, Bucs, and Texans. When it comes to the projection of the Chiefs bouncing back from a down year, they finished third in the division (easier schedule in 2026) and the obvious bounce-back potential of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the entire Andy Reid-led offense has sportsbooks believing they’ll get right immediately.
As for more context on the Chargers, they’re likely expecting a bit of a wash in regards to overall team performance. The defense is seemingly expected to take a hit with the loss of Jesse Minter to the Ravens, but the offense now has much higher expectation to bounce back under Mike McDaniel. That’s a fairly simplified look at the biggest changes on the team, but I don’t think it needs to be much more complicated than that.
What do you all think about this first win total projection for the Bolts? Is it higher than you would personally predict? Lower? Just right? Let us know all of your thoughts in the comments below!
